River Findhorn Juvenile Survey 2010 Robert Laughton Spey Foundation Report 03/11 Spey Foundation 1 Nether Borlum Cottage Knockando Morayshire Tel: 01340 810841 Email:
[email protected] Prepared for Findhorn Fishery Board, c/o Wiil Cowie (Clerk), R&R Urquhart, 121 High Street, Forres, Morayshire, IV36 0AB. And Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Fisheries Trust Logie Steading, Dunphail, Forres, Morayshire. March 2011 Thus survey was funded by River Findhorn Juvenile Survey 2010 Robert Laughton. Spey Foundation Report 03/11 Spey Foundation, 1 Nether Borlum Cottage, Knockando, Morayshire, Tel:01340 810841, email:
[email protected] 1. Introduction The Findhorn Fisheries Management Plan (Laughton, 2009a) highlighted the need for data on fish populations (FMP Action 3.1), this survey aims to add to the juvenile fish dataset for the Findhorn and its tributaries and examine their relative abundance. Electro-fishing surveys of the juvenile salmon and trout population in the River Findhorn have been conducted from 1997 to 2010 with the exception of 2002 and 2004 when poor weather conditions and high river flows hampered surveys (Forbes, 1997; Adderton, 1998; Murray, 2000 and Murray, 2001; Redgewell and Laughton, 2008, Laughton 2009b). This survey report examines salmon and trout fry distributions for 2010 and provides a brief outline of the trends in juvenile salmonid populations. 2. Materials and Methods From late August to mid-September 36 sites were examined in 2010 within the River Findhorn catchment. Similar to previous surveys, all electrofishing was undertaken using Scottish Fisheries Co-ordination Centre methodology (SFCC, 2007). Photographic records, Ordnance Survey grid references and a Global Positioning System (GPS) were used to re-locate each site.